Commercial | OIIO STUDIO
Bending
the Rules
A NEW YORK-BASED ARCHITECTURAL FIRM
WANTS TO BUILD THE WORLD'S LONGEST
BUILDING. BY KAT ZEMAN
W
hen it comes to architecture, Oiio Studio likes to
bend the rules. Perhaps more astonishingly, the New
York City-based architectural firm wants to bend the
Manhattan skyline.
The firm is seeking out investors about building a 4,000-foot-long
U-shaped skyscraper on Manhattan's so-called "Billionaire's Row."
If all goes according to plan, the building would potentially be the
longest building in the world.
Called the Big Bend, the concept calls for a skyline-altering building that would literally bend over at its top and return to the ground
via another leg.
"We're looking for ways to use new technology," says Gregory
Gegliris, an associate architect at Oiio Studio. "Why should we design
buildings that can only move vertically? We can now move in another direction."
On its website, Oiio Studio says that New York city's zoning laws
have "created a peculiar set of tricks through which developers try to
maximize their property's height in order to infuse it with the prestige of a high rise structure." Gegliris says that his firm is trying to be
creative, by substituting height with length, and wants to encourage
discussion about such concepts.
"It's just a concept. To our knowledge, there's nothing like it yet,"
he says, referring to the Big Bend concept. "Our investors are asking
questions about feasibility. But I think it's time to start talking
about implementing vertical technology ... even if we don't build
the Big Bend."
Vertically Horizontal Solution
As land becomes scarce in big cities due to
a growing world population, the architectural community has started discussing a
number of ways to utilize tight spaces. One
option to do this is by what Gegliris refers
to as "vertical technology."
Architects in highly populated cities can
no longer build out, they must build up.
But instead of solely building up, the new
concept calls to build using both height
and length.
"What if our buildings were long instead
of tall?" states the Big Bend proposal on Oiio
40
CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM MAY 2017
Studio designed the Big
» Oiio
Bend in part to work around
New York's complex zoning laws.
Studio's website. Since Manhattan has an obvious space issue, the
Big Bend - or something like it - would be a great solution for the
city, Gegliris says.
"If we manage to bend our structure instead
of bending the zoning rules of New York,
we would be able to create one of the most
www.oiiostudio.com
prestigious buildings in Manhattan," the com* Headquarters: New York, N.Y.
pany states. The Big Bend is being pitched as a
* Employees: 4
solution to restrictive zoning laws that regulate
* Specia y: Architectural firm
the shape and height of skyscrapers.
The firm believes that the Big Bend can
become a modest architectural solution to the
height limitations of Manhattan.
"We can now provide our structures
- Gregory Gegliris, associate
with the measurements that will make them
stand out without worrying about the limits of
the sky," the company says.
Oiio Studio
"Why hould we design buildings at can only move vertically? We can now move in
ano er direction."